Bound to the Shadow Prince

✨ Grumpy x Sunshine
✨ Enemies to friends to lovers
✨ Forced Proximity
✨ Touch her and die
✨ Virgin MMC
🌶️ SMUTTY 🌶️

I love a curvy, cheeky princess; and a grumpy, not-quite-human, softy, prince was a fun change from what I usually read. I also loved the chronic illness representation. I was invested very early on and didn’t want to put it down. I enjoyed the enemies-to friends-to lovers progression and I thought Nemeth was just freaking adorable. The spice was very spicy but it got a little repetitive and the “knot” talk was a little cringe for me sometimes 😆 I went into this expecting a smut fest, and while the smut was plentiful, the story itself was also very interesting. There were times I was on the edge of my seat dying to know what was coming next. I liked the sense of mystery and the little twists and turns. Overall, a very enjoyable read.

If you like creature smut with a funny, sassy, shamelessly promiscuous FMC and a well thought out storyline - this one’s for you!

I throughly enjoyed this novel. Bound to the Shadow Prince features Nemeth and Candra, two members of different royal families. Nemeth is a Fellian, a somewhat gargoyle like species (horns/wings/grey) and Candra is a regular ol’ human. Because of reasons (gods/the moon/a curse) the two opposing species each have to send a member of their royal line to a tower to live for seven years.

Nemeth is trained for the tower and has been preparing all his life for it. Candra… not so much. She learns three days before the curse is set to start that she will be the royal ‘sacrifice.’ Once both Nemeth and Candra are within the tower, they are locked in and a wall is built in front of the door. From there, a fun forced proximity romance story develops.

I am such a fan of Ruby Dixon’s writing style - I find it throughly entertaining. Perhaps because this, too, was a serial (like Ice Planet Barbarians before it.) I loved both characters, although Candra took slightly longer to grow on me, but she got there with her inner dialogue about when she was allowed to cry. I also loved Nemeth, a giant nerdy almost monk.

Minor spoiler: <spoiler> I’m totally down for more traditionally published knotting stories. I wrote in my notes about this book: “make 2024 the year of the knot” </spoiler>

I received this book as an ARC through Netgalley and read all 500 pages in less than 24 hours (and could have finished earlier if it wasn’t work work!)

I absolutely love everything Ruby Dixon writes and this was no exception. While different than many of her other titles - no space, no aliens, etc - it still has all her wit, humor and to die for romance. A cannot miss for any fans.

I love you Ruby Dixon!

I have been reading Ruby for nine years, and she just keeps getting better!

Thank you, NetGalley and the Publisher, for the opportunity to read this STEAMY AF title in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start off by saying two things:

#1 I've never read a Ruby Dixon novel, but I've heard a LOT about them.
#2 Based on that information, I started off my reading adventure by doing a word search for the term 'c*ck', and it appeared a staggering ONE-HUNDRED-SEVENTEEN times. And I'm not talking about BS mannerisms like "she cocked her hip" and "he cocked his head"; no. This was the real deal. This book was going to be FILTHY.

Also, I'm going to need someone to draw the MMC because I plugged his character description into an AI image generator and DO NOT DO THAT UNLESS YOU ARE BETTER AT NAVIGATING AI THAN I AM, BECAUSE IT WAS... A CHOICE.

Now, onto the review!

Did I love this? Yes
Did it have adequate world building and conflict outside of the romance? Yes
Was the narration pleasant to read? Yes
Did the characters have adequate growth? Yes
Did it hold my attention throughout the entire novel? 95% yes (I skimmed a bit in chapter 7, but that was the only place)
Was the MMC a big, cuddly humanoid with a monster d*ck and knot and loyal AF? Yes
Was the language a mixture of fantasy and contemporary terms? Yes (bit confusing, that -- but do I care?)
Was the spice satisfactory? Yes (it hit like every kink of mine; what a match! lol)
Would I recommend this novel to others? Obviously, yes -- but with the warning that they better love smut.
Is this objectively a 5-star read? Probably not, but it hit my mood just right so it's 5 stars for me.



Thank you, Ruby Dixon, for writing such a fun adventure! I look forward to reading more from your catalogue.

I loved this book so much I even cried when it was over. Sure, it was a long read but I wanted it to go on forever.
I felt so immersed in this world and I grew very attached to the main characters from the very start. The book was full of comfort and love and feelings and figuring relationships out, and then at the end, it was suddenly dark and sad and tumultuous. Even though this book had a happy ending, it felt rushed in comparison to the slow pace of the rest of the book. Be prepared for a real slow burn romance, a super protective and caring MMC, and lots of forced proximity! Read the trigger warnings for this book though, as the ending is a bit dark.
Thank you for this ARC!

Absolutely loved the enemies to lovers story. It was a fantastic read with great spice. I couldn’t wait to curl up & read when I had the chance. Ruby Dixon always hits it out of the park for me. I loved the two kingdoms and the backstories
She really knows how get me immersed in a world with sexy mates & great characters.
Will definitely be watching for publication day & to see if I can add this to my ruby dixon bookshelf

OMGoodness!!! This book checked all my boxes! Grumpy-Sunshine, Forced Proximity, Touch her and die, Spicy, Enemies to lovers, just all of it! Candra and Nemeth have my heart in a vice! The character development and rich world-building kept me reading, I couldn't put it down!

Wow, just woooooowwwww, this was such an epic read, there really are no words that could remotely do this book justice. I guess we can go with “obsessed”, as in I am obsessed…and addicted. So maybe there are 2 words, obsessively addicted. It was fantastic, I lost so much sleep reading it, and I regret absolutely nothing. I mean seriously, just wow. I am a huge Ruby Dixon super fan, and this may be one of my favorite books of hers. It was just fantastic, there aren’t enough stars for this book, it was just that good. She really outdid herself, which I think is telling because she is a fantastic writer. And now…I’m completely obsessively addicted.

Princess Candromeda aka Candra from Lios and Prince Nemeth from Darkfell are both Royal Offerings of their opposing bloodlines that have to stay in the Tower of Balance for 7 years with only each other, they can’t leave, and are bricked in to appease the goddess. And this is how their epic love story starts. These two had so much chemistry, and they fell madly in love with each other. She was charmingly over-the-top blunt, flirty, she was who she was without apology, with a whole side of ornery extra. What you saw is what you got, and I loved it. He was a sweet scholar that absolutely adored her, pampered his precious princess, with an admiring ability to handle her, and believe me she needed to be handled. Their heat was scorching, and they were insatiable for each other. And…she was insatiable for his knot….yup it’s exactly what you think…and yup, she was a lucky girl indeed. Normally in a book, I always favor one of the couple, either the guy or the girl, but in this one I loved them both. They just went together like salt and pepper, peanut butter and jelly, me and Dean Winchester…just checking to see if you’re still reading *winks*, but you get the idea. Basically they were insatiably smitten with each other.

Safe read, with a hot af couple that are madly in love, and insatiably smitten with each other. They are together with each other no matter what. Fantastic storyline with more twists, turns and wtaf moments than you can possibly think up. It was like quick sand, you just got sucked in, next thing you know it’s wee hours in the morning, but you could care less as long as you can read one more chapter(s). All the emotions, like every single one, they are all there. A sweet epilogue and a hea. Ok, I’ve waited long enough, 3 whole paragraphs, will there be more in this world? No, not asking for a friend, because I’m just too obsessed…yup, I’m still as subtle as a Mack truck, but will there be more, because I really am that obsessed. When you read this book crack, you’ll be obsessed too, we can start a support club for our addictions, it will be a whole thing…you’re welcome. And Ruby Dixon, thank you so much for writing this epic and addicting book with a couple that I am equally obsessed with, I’ve never been so happy to lose sleep. #TotallyWorthIt

Big thanks to NetGalley and W by Wattpad Books for providing me with an e-arc of this book. Rate 3.5

I was hooked on this book during the first half; I found myself engrossed for a solid four hours before reluctantly putting it down to get some sleep.

The protagonist, Candra, was incredibly relatable, and I adored her laid-back attitude. The forced proximity between Candra and Nemeth, trapped together in a tower with nothing to do but bond, was the perfect setup, and I savored every moment of it.

However, my enthusiasm waned a bit in the second half. It felt almost like a different story altogether. While still enjoyable, I found myself less invested than I was initially. As Candra and Nemeth ventured into the outside world together, the spark of their relationship seemed to dim. Additionally, the plot became increasingly complex in the latter half, almost too much to fully explore within the confines of this single book.

Nevertheless, I would still recommend this book to fans of Ruby's writing or anyone seeking a standalone fantasy romance.